LOS ANGELES, July 1, 2004 – The second annual Los Angeles Times KidCity, a free two-day outdoor educational adventure designed for children ages 7-13, will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, and Sunday, July 18, at the Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive in Pasadena.

KidCity will feature five stages showcasing a variety of children's and family entertainment, including children's storytelling; celebrity readings; wildlife, science and martial arts demonstrations; and traditional ethnic dance and musical performances.

The weekend event also will include more than 50 interactive literacy, arts, science and nature demonstrations, as well as sports contests, games and recreational activities, and guest appearances by WB Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety.

The California Wellness Foundation and Reading by 9, The Times' literacy campaign, will present free children's vision screenings, which will be conducted by the Los Angeles Eye Institute. Scholastic Inc. will distribute free books to all children completing vision exams.

Detailed information about event participants, demonstrations and interactive sessions will be published in the official Los Angeles Times KidCity event program, which will appear in the July 11 edition of The Times. Event information also is available online at www.latimes.com/kidcity.

Launched by the Los Angeles Times in 1998, Reading by 9 is a multi-year initiative aimed at helping Southern California kindergarten through third-grade students read at grade level by the age of nine. The program is conducted in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, and is supported by almost 50 business, civic, education, media and philanthropic organizations.

About Above & Beyond Awards

The finalists, ages 7-13, were nominated by parents, teachers and community leaders who submitted 200-word essays describing their nominee's contributions. A panel of judges – composed of parents, educators and community leaders from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties – selects the winners from each of those counties. Judging categories are: Above & Beyond in my Community, Above & Beyond in my Classroom, and Above & Beyond in my Cultural Heritage.

Winners' names will be published in a congratulatory advertisement to appear in The Times. Each winner will receive an Above & Beyond Awards statue, four annual passes to a local amusement park and an Above & Beyond awards t-shirt.

The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 35 Pulitzer Prizes, including five this year – the second-largest yearly total in the history of the awards. The Times publishes five daily regional editions including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties as well as a National edition. Additional information about The Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.